Meet Chef Derek Upton of Stay Hungry Kitchen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Derek Upton.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Chef Derek. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Fresno California, moved here in 2011. I spent most of my young adult life as a professional studio/live drummer. I worked for major and independent record labels and was able to travel all over.

Cooking for me has been a second life long passion, coming from a big family that always cooked together. One day I realized that music wasn’t making me truly happy. When I was at home I cooked, for myself, for everyone I could get to come over. Bringing people together over food is an amazing moving thing. That’s when I knew I needed a change. So I did, abruptly I might add, but it needed to be done. I went to culinary school, worked harder than everyone and moved my way up. I’ve been able to work for Chef Justin Beckett, EVO and Cafe Monarch to name a few.

This journey led me to what I’m really passionate about. I went through some medical issues that felt like there was no end in sight. Until I was introduced to CBD and started using it in my daily life. Since then I have become an advocate of cannabis and CBD through food. I’ve lost over 115 lbs, been off of medications for 3 yrs and started a business.

After being featured on a CBD cooking show on NETFLIX, being released 2020, local tv like Aztv The Daily Mix, several Magazines and many others, my movement took shape.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but nothing good comes easy. Changing your career and not being taken seriously at first is very hard. Add being tattooed and in the cannabis industry makes for a rough road.

But for my team Chase Hammond, Justin Barnes and I, it’s not about getting high it’s about healing. We want to redefine the stereotypes of what cannabis is and set the standard for what healthy food will be.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Stay Hungry Kitchen – What else should we know?
What we do at Stay Hungry Kitchen now that CBD is federally legal is to create food-related CBD/Cannabis content for CBD companies. We take their products and use them in scratch chef-driven food that is far from munchies. We educate on the use of CBD, how it positively affects the body and showcase ways to use it in food. We provide a full network quality content package with a full-length video, trailer videos and over 150HD photos. The company can then use this content to drive traffic to their products via food demographics

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are looking to grow and continue to push our mission and message. Bringing value through focused content. We are also working on a tv show called Stay Hungry Kitchen. We have some opportunities to get it seen on a few streaming services and networks.

I am also very excited to be apart of the exclusive Phoenix cookbook being written by Az Hall of game and JBF Foodist award winner Christina Burreta, highlighting Phoenix Chefs that have created our food scene.

Contact Info:

• Address: @chefderekupton Chef
  @chasehammond – PR
  @worldwiderev – Creative Director
• Email: stayhungrykitchen@gmail.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/stayhungrykitchen
• Facebook: Facebook.com/stayhungrytv

Image Credit:
Chase Hammond Photography @chasehammond

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